Cannes Market Dailies

Concourse Film Trade, a division of the newly minted entertainment group Concourse Media, has closed a multiplatform North American distribution deal with XLrator Media for the fact-based UFO conspiracy thriller THE PHOENIX INCIDENT, which will include an event-style theatrical release. Concourse Media partners Matthew Shreder and James Andrew Felts and XLrator Media CEO Barry Gordon announced the deal today.

Blurring the lines of fiction and reality, THE PHOENIX INCIDENT is based on the largest UFO sighting in North American history known as the Phoenix Lights that occurred on March 13, 1997 in Phoenix, Arizona, where thousands of people, including then-state senator John McCain, claimed to have simultaneously witnessed unexplainable lights in the night sky. The fact based, sci-fi thriller revolves around a military conspiracy and the controversial missing persons case surrounding the infamous event. 

The phenomenon hit close to home for director Keith Arem, an Arizona native, who wrote and directed the sci-fi thriller about four unsolved missing persons cases connected to the Phoenix phenomenon using whistleblower testimony, recovered military footage, and eyewitness accounts to explore the U.S. military’s alleged engagement of alien spacecrafts that night.

While THE PHOENIX INCIDENT marks his feature directorial debut, Arem has spent two decades in video games as the talent director for AAA franchise hits such as “Call of Duty,” “Saints Row,” “Ghost Recon,” “Spiderman,” “Tony Hawk Pro Skater,” “Persona,” “Prince of Persia,” and “Rainbow Six”.

“We are thrilled to partner with the dynamic team at XLrator Media, said Shreder and Felts. “As the leading distributor for top independent genre content, XLrator is the perfect fit to launch this property.”

The cast features some of the gaming industry’s biggest stars including Troy Baker (“The Last of Us,” “BioShock Infinite,” “Batman: Arkham City”) and Yuri Lowenthal (“Prince of Persia”, “Sunset Overdrive”, “Dragon Age”, “Castlevania”), and Jamie Tisdale (“From Dusk Till Dawn”).

Arem produced the film with Ash Sarohia and Adam Lawson for their PCB Entertainment banner.

The release date has not yet been set.

The deal was negotiated by XLrator Media’s Barry Gordon with Concourse principals Matthew Shreder and Andrew Felts. Concourse is handling worldwide sales for the film.

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About Concourse Media

Concourse Media is a multi-faceted entertainment group owned and run by Matthew Shreder and Andrew Felts. Concourse Media manages a film sales division, Concourse Film Trade, and boutique marketing firm The Industry & Co (I&Co). Headquartered in Los Angeles, and backed by private equity group MCG, Concourse Media has positioned itself as an emerging player in the global content arena.

Concourse Film Trade is dedicated to both packaging and acquiring motion pictures for domestic, international and/or worldwide distribution. Concourse will also pre-buy rights to well-packaged projects that have or are likely to have meaningful theatrical distribution in the United States.

The Industry & Co (I&Co) is a full-service creative firm strategically acquired by Concourse Media. I&Co is focused on marketing solutions and strategic consultation for distributors and filmmakers.

About XLrator Media, LLC

One of the fastest-growing independent film distribution companies in North America since its creation in 2010, XLrator Media, LLC (XLratorMedia.com) will release 25 films in 2015. Its recent releases include Academy Award-winner John Ridley’s JIMI: ALL IS BY MY SIDE starring Andre Benjamin as rock legend Jimi Hendrix and SXSW hits HOUSEBOUND and THE MULE. XLrator Media is also the home of the acclaimed MACABRE and TURBO genre film labels.

The company previously released such diverse films as THE MACHINE, CBGB, AMERICAN MARY, STORM SURFERS 3D, BANSHEE CHAPTER and IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD. Upcoming films include the Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver) documentary IT’S SO EASY AND OTHER LIES based on his New York Times best-selling memoir, sci-fi thrillers TIME LAPSE, 400 DAYS and PANDEMIC, Tribeca Film Festival award-winner FIVE STAR, TIFF Midnight Madness sensation TOKYO TRIBE, and SXSW premieres THE DIABOLICAL and MATEO.

XLrator Media has announced a slate of three action-thrillers with the producers of IRONCLAD which it will co-produce and distribute worldwide. The first film, PARADOX, recently wrapped principal photography and will be released in early 2016.